Thank you so much for all the reviews on the last chapter! It really does inspire me to write!

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The next morning, Addison and Derek were woken up by their children bursting into their room. "Mommy! Daddy! We got to see the OTHER ocean!" Ellie exclaimed as she bounded up to the bed.

"Oh yeah?" Addison smiled as she got out of the bed and hugged her daughter.

"Yeah! Nana and Aunt Amy took us to see tidepools. We got to see starfish, muscles, and anemones. It was AWESOME!" Apollos chimed in excitedly. Addison couldn't believe the change in her oldest. She hadn't seen him smile so much all summer. He walked over to his mom and gave her a hug. Again, she was shocked.

"That sounds so fun." Derek chimed in, smiling up at his kids. Apollos glanced down at his dad, then up and his mom. He gave his dad a small smile and leaned over and gave him a gentle hug. Derek glanced up and his mom and sister and raised his eyebrow in question. Carolyn shrugged as she sat down on the couch.

"Did you guys have a good anniversary?" Carolyn asked the couple.

"It was perfect." Addison said as she reached down and squeezed Derek's hand. He looked up at her and smiled.

"We did." Derek responded. "Thank you Mom for taking the kids."

"Anytime." Carolyn smiled. "Well, if you don't mind, I would like to take my grandchildren for ice cream one last time before I fly back East." At the mention of ice cream, all 3 kids started pleading with the parents to let them go.

"Of course." Addison laughed. Carolyn left the room with kids while Amelia stayed behind.

"The real reason mom took the kids is because she is insisting that I tell you what happened with Apollos." Amy said looking everywhere but her brother and sister-in-law.

Derek sat the bed up while Addison sat down in the chair next to the bed. "What did you do now, Amy?" Derek asked pointedly.

"I didn't do anything wrong." Amy quipped back, crossing her arms. Addison ran her hand through hair. Derek and Amy constantly were bickering. She was used to playing the peacemaker role between them.

"Ok. Just tell us what happened." Addison said as she rubbed Derek's shoulder to try and calm him down. He rolled his eyes but stayed quiet.

Earlier at the coast

Apollos had his headphones in again, refusing to talk to his aunt or grandmother unless absolutely necessary. He really did NOT want to be on this trip.

The group was walking down the beach looking at tidepools. Ellie and Khaliel were running all over the place in awe. While part of Apollos thought it was cool to see starfish in the wild, he refused to show it.

"What's up little man?" Amelia asked her nephew and she slung his arm over him. Apollos shrugged her off and took off down the beach.

"He is taking everything that has been going on really hard." Carolyn said sadly to her daughter. "Maybe I should go talk to him."

"Let me, Mom." Amy answered. She turned and jogged after Apollos. He was now perched on some driftwood looking out at the vast Pacific Ocean.

"The Pacific Northwest coastline is gorgeous." Amelia said as she sat down next to him. Apollos just remained silent. "What's going on, Apollos? This isn't like you."

"Well, let's see. My mom slept with Mark. My dad left us and started dating some intern. And now we have to move all the way across the country because my stupid dad fell off a roof. They are both ruining my life!" Apollos huffed as he got up and continued down the beach.

" That all sucks, man. But they aren't ruining your life. You have 2 parents who really love you, and they are now trying to work through their problems." Amelia said as she walked next to her nephew.

"Whatever. I probably would be better off if they both just died." Apollos spat. Amelia immediately grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him towards her and got in his face.

"Apollos Christopher Shepherd! Don't you EVER say that again!" Amelia yelled. "Take it from someone whose parent actually DID die. You do NOT want your parents to die."

Apollos stared wide eyed at his aunt. He had never been yelled at by her like this before. He also felt guilty for what he said. He knew the story of how his dad and aunt had been at the store when his grandfather had been shot. It wasn't something that was talked about very often though. He could see the pain in his aunt's eyes as she yelled at him.

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry, Aunt Amy." Apollos said. "I didn't really mean it." At this point, tears began to spring from the boy's eyes. It broke Amelia's heart to see him cry. Sometimes she forgot how young he actually was since he always acted older. She pulled him for a tight hug.

"It's ok little buddy. I know you didn't mean it." Amelia said. She held him tight as his body shook from the tears. All the anger, frustration, and hurt was coming out.

"Your parents really do love you and are trying their best." Amelia eventually said.

"I know." Apollos answered as the tears began to stop. Both were quiet for a little while longer.

"Would you like to go back to your siblings now and play in the tidepools?" Amy asked with a smile. Apollos shook his head yes and ran back to where Khaliel and Ellie were with their Nana.

For the rest of the trip, Apollos was back to being the happy go lucky kid he had been before the summer.

Both Addison and Derek stared at Amelia in shock as she finished the story. They both knew that Apollos was having a hard time, but they didn't realize how deeply they had hurt him.

"We need to talk with him." Derek said, looking up at Addison. She simply shook her head in agreement as she couldn't seem to form words.

"On another note, I am going to be staying in Seattle." Amelia said happily. "I am going to work here at Seattle Grace and am getting an apartment near you guys."

"What?" Derek asked confused.

"I talked with your Chief. Since you will be out for awhile, Derek, they are in need of another neurosurgeon. Plus, you guys are going to need help with the kids while you recover.." Amy answered matter-of-factly.

"Amy...I don't know if that is a good idea." Derek started. Addison put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"I think it is a great idea." Addison responded. Derek raised an eyebrow at her but kept quiet when Addison gave him a "we will discuss this later" look. "Now, I need to go check on my TTTS case before the kids get back. And Derek, I believe it is almost time for your physical therapy."

"Oh joy." Derek muttered. Addison stood up and leaned over to give Derek a kiss good-bye. Amelia followed her sister-in-law out of the room.

"Addie, thanks for the support in there." Amy said once they were in the hallway. "My brother still sees me as the screw up addict."

"Amelia. I know you are an amazing doctor, but you also need to realize how much Derek is going through right now. I fully support you working here and am extremely thankful to any help you are able to do with the kids; however, I will not support you riling Derek up or pushing his buttons. " Addison said sternly. Amy was a little shocked at Addison's response. Before she could say anything, the Chief approached the sisters.

"Addison, I was just coming to get you. We have the DNA results. I need you to come to my office to meet with Officer Gibson and Detective Frierdich of the FBI. " Richard said quietly, trying not to draw attention to them. So far they had been able to keep underwraps what was going on. He knew once the press got ahold of it, chaos would begin.

Addison looked Richard in the eye and immediately knew that the DNA tests had confirmed what her gut had told her. Katie was actually Gracie. Once again, Addison relied on her upbringing to not let the torrent of emotions she was feeling show.

"Of course, Chief. Lead the way." Addison said. She gave a nod good-bye to Amelia and followed Richard to his office.

Once they entered the office, Addison was introduced to Detective Frierdich. Dr. Clark was also present. The mood in the room grew very serious.

"Dr. Shepherd. Thank you for joining us." Detective Frierdich said. "As I am sure you have guessed, DNA results have confirmed that your patient Katie is actually Gracie. Her parents are being notified today and will most likely be arriving in Seattle in the next few days." she finished.

"I will be coordinating the meeting of Gracie and her parents. This is going to be very hard on everyone, as I am sure you can imagine." Dr. Clark continued. She proceeded to discuss protocols that would be set in place and expectations of all parties involved. "Gracie will be moved to the VIP section of the hospital that is more private. Only a limited number of nurses and doctors will have access to her." Dr. Weber said. Addison nodded in understanding, taking in everything she was being told.

"This poor family has already been through the unimaginable. We are going to do everything we can to keep the press at bay." Officer Gibson said.

"Have you told Gracie yet?" Addison asked.

"I haven't told her that her parents will be here, but I talked with her at length yesterday. She opened up with me about her childhood. Some of the stories she said sounded like they occurred before she was kidnapped. It will be a process to work through to help her sort it all out, but I am confident she will get there." Dr. Clark answered.

"So what should I call her?" Addison asked. "I need to go examine her and the twins. So do I call her Katie or Gracie?"

"We leave it up to her." Dr. Clark responded. Addison looked at her confused. "Start by calling her Gracie. If she tells you that isn't her name, then go with Katie. Otherwise, call her Gracie. She needs to feel like she has as much control as possible." Dr. Clark clarified.

"Ok." Addison said, taking a deep breath. After a few more instructions from the Detective, Addison left the Chief's office to go examine her patient.

Addison made her way into Gracie's room and found the girl watching the news. "Good Morning, Gracie." Addison said sweetly. "I am going to check on your daughters if that is ok." Addison noticed that the girl stiffened at the use of Gracie, but she didn't say anything in response, so Addison continued.

"Everyone looks good." Addison said as she ran the ultrasound wand over Gracie's belly. "How are you feeling?' she continued as she looked up at her patient. Gracie shrugged her shoulders.

"I am ok." she said quietly after a while. Gracie looked at the screen that showed her daughters with a blank stare.

"Would you like me to print out a picture?" Addison asked, trying to get her to talk. Again, Gracie just shrugged her shoulders in response. Addison proceeded to print out a picture of the girls. She handed it to Gracie after finishing her exam. "Now you can look at them whenever you want." Addison said as she was preparing to leave the room.

"Thank you." Gracie whispered.

"You are welcome." Addison said, smiling down at the girl. "I am here if you need me." she said and then turned to leave.

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Callie entered Derek's room not long after Amelia and Addison left. "Good Morning, Dr. Shepherd. Did you enjoy your anniversary yesterday?" she asked.

"I did." Derek said, as he noticed the cold stare he was receiving from George, who was with Callie. It was obvious that George was still very angry at what Derek had done to Meredith.

"We are going to work on strengthening your lower back today." Callie continued. "As you know, it is important to do whatever we can to keep your back strong in order to allow for maximum healing."

"I can hardly wait." Derek mumbled. George and Callie began to help Derek do multiple stretches and movements to work his lower back. He was very limited, having both legs in casts, but they did as much as they could.

"Shit! This hurts!" Derek yelled in pain just as his kids and mom walked back in the room. Ellie's eyes got huge in response to her father cussing.

"Uh, hi guys." Derek said, trying to control the pained expression on his face. Carolyn knew how much pain Derek was in, and it broke her heart to see her baby boy like this.

"Would you like us to come back later?" Carolyn asked Derek.

"No, we are done anyway." Derek said, as he lied down. Callie gave him a pointed look as she wanted to keep working, but she knew Derek would have none of it.

"Yes, we will do more this afternoon." Callie said.

"I can hardly wait." Derke muttered.

Carolyn walked over to Derek after Callie and George left the room. "I am sorry you are in so much pain, son." she said as she squeezed his shoulder.

"I'll be alright, Mom. It is part of the process." Derek sighed. He looked over at his kids, who were now playing the X-Box. "Thank you for taking care of the kids the last few days."

"Of course son. You know I am always just a phone call away." Carolyn said tenderly as she ran her hand over Derek's cheek like she used to do when he was sick as a young boy. Derek reached up and squeezed her hand.

"So your plane flies out early tomorrow morning?" Derek asked.

"Yes. I have to be at the airport at 5, so I will say my good-byes tonight." Carolyn answered. Derek nodded as Addison entered the room.

"Mommy!" Ellie yelled running to give her mom a hug.

"Hey, sweetie. It is about time for you to go home and get ready for gymnastics." Addison reminded her daughter. "You won't see Nana anymore once you leave, so go say good-bye and then I will take you home to get ready."

Ellie nodded and bounced over to her grandmother to say good-bye. Addison walked over to check on Derek. She leaned down and gave him a kiss.

"How was therapy?" she asked.

"About as fun as you think it would be." Derek grumbled. Addison bit her lip not to laugh, but instead gave Derek another kiss.

"I am going to take Ellie to gymnastics. Amelia said she can bring the boys home later. Do you mind if they hang out here for about an hour or so?" Addison asked. It felt so good yet slightly unreal to be discussing everyday activities with Derek. It had been a long time since she had been able to rely on him to really help with the kids.

"Of course. Mom will be here for a while yet, so she can always keep an eye on the boys if I am unable to." Derek answered.

With the afternoon and evening plans set, Addison left with Ellie. As she took her daughters hand when they entered the parking lot, Addison couldn't help but think of Gracie's parents, who soon would be at the hospital and seeing their daughter for the first time in many years. It made Addison's heart break at the idea. She knew it was going to be very difficult once they arrived. Addison reached down and picked Ellie up and held her close. Before too long, her little girl would be too big for her to carry. But for now, she would savor every minute of it.

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